Trump Is Time Magazine's Person of the Year: Accept It.

Many people have reacted poorly to the recent news that Donald Trump has been named Person of the Year by Time Magazine.

And they are certainly justified in their anger towards the man in question, but disagreeing with the choice is another matter entirely.

For those of you living under a rock, this past election cycle was less than thrilling, as we quickly learned that Americans are terrible at making decisions, apparently even the important ones.

Trump ran a campaign largely based in insults and lies, partly based in concern for the country and our current state. Regardless, he won the election (even if not by popular vote).

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But political parties aside, we have a new president, and whether or not we like him, I’m sorry to say it, is pretty irrelevant.

I mean think about it: we elected him. He’s about to take office, and there isn’t any turning back at this point. And even if he were to be impeached, Mike Pence is our backup plan. Ouch.

Either way, the argument that Trump doesn’t deserve to be Person of the Year is pretty irrelevant. Time Magazine always names an influential, big name of the past year, and there’s no argument that Trump is that person, whether or not we like him.

Over the past year, the businessman went from laughing stock of the election to real contender all the way up to winner of the election of the 2016 Presidential race.

And with one look at his resume, it’s pretty clear he’s unqualified in terms of anything politics related. His big claim to fame is his fortune and business deals, and somehow, he landed himself the highest profile job in the country.

To create an entire campaign off of so little is definitely worthy of the Time Magazine title.

It’s not likely Trump was handed any of these either. He worked for it. Albeit, not in the way most Americans would have, and not necessarily in a way that we should be looking up towards, but he did it. He put in the work, he was on the campaign trail, giving speeches, visiting different states around the country, and he spent less on his campaign than his competitors.

His campaign method, though unorthodox, landed him the presidency, and that’s not an easy feat — just ask Hillary Clinton.

He influenced his followers so strongly that they followed him until the very end. He called out a corrupt system, suggested a change, and people listened. He displayed leadership, no matter what people may think about how he went about doing so.

Anyway, the point of this isn’t to defend him, as I certainly don’t, but rather, to defend Time Magazine’s choice. The Person of the Year doesn’t have to be well-liked — if that were the case, we’d be looking at winners like Beyonce or Jennifer Lawrence.

Instead, the Person of the Year is meant to be an iconic person from the past year, someone that sums up the year as a whole, that achieved insurmountable tasks, that truly worked hard and achieved what they set out to do. The Person of the Year is an honor, sure, but it’s not a popularity contest. I think it’s brave for Time Magazine to make the decision that they did, as it’s bound to be an unpopular one. That being said, I think that it was the right one.

Can you think of a name that better sums up the past year?

I can’t.

So before you go boycotting the magazine or taking it a step further to protest in the streets of the city nearest you, take a second and actually think about it.

Trump may not be your favorite person, but he was the most prolific person over the past year. And whether good or bad, that’s exactly what we’re left with. So we might as well embrace it right?

Time Magazine put it best in the summary of their article:

“It’s a country where many who felt powerless have a new champion, where much frustration has given way to excitement and where politics has become the greatest show on earth. Here men in combat helmets and military assault rifles now patrol the streets outside a golden residential tower in midtown Manhattan. And almost every day at about the same time they let pass a street performer who wears no pants, tight white underwear and cowboy boots, so he can sing a song in the lobby for the television cameras with Trump’s name written in red and blue on his butt. It’s an America of renewed hope and paralyzing fear, a country few expected less than a year ago. Because of Donald John Trump, whatever happens next, it will never be like it was before.”

So whatever the future brings, we’ll have to wait and see. But at least we’re all in it together.

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Victoria is a dedicated writer who graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She currently writes freelance pieces for various sites and works in Marketing for Myndbee Inc., promoting their current mobile app, Picpal.